The bizarre Dublin story behind Will Quinn’s maroon cap

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·11 April 2025

The bizarre Dublin story behind Will Quinn’s maroon cap

Matt Corr tells the bizarre story behind Will Quinn’s maroon cap…

The maroon cap is from the Ireland v Scotland Home International match played at Dalymount Park, Dublin on Saturday, 15 March 1913. Photo Matt Corr

Willie Maley’s Celtic ‘Team of all the Talents’

The maroon cap in the photo is from the Ireland v Scotland Home International match played at Dalymount Park, Dublin on Saturday, 15 March 1913. There were no Celts in the Scotland team which won 2-1 thanks to first-half goals from Willie Reid and Alec Bennett of Rangers, Jimmy ‘Napoleon’ McMenemy having been forced to withdraw due to injury a few days earlier. Bennett and McMenemy had played together at both Rutherglen Glencairn and Willie Maley’s Celtic ‘Team of all the Talents’ before the former switched to Ibrox in 1908.

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Jimmy McMenemy and Alex Bennett. Photo The Celtic Wiki

Will Quinn was drafted in as Scotland trainer for that match in Dublin, a late replacement for future Rangers manager Bill Struth, who was required for duty at his club Clyde’s Scottish Cup quarter-final replay with Dundee at Shawfield the same afternoon.

And a mile or so to the east, Celtic lost 1-0 to Motherwell in a League clash at Parkhead, ‘Trooper Joe’ Cassidy making his Hoops debut in the absence of the great McMenemy. That result enabled Rangers to pull two points clear of the Celts at the top of the table, following their 1-1 draw with third-placed Hearts at Tynecastle. Both Glasgow clubs had eight League matches still to play.

In our previous article (see below), we covered the events at Belfast’s Solitude in November 1912 which saw Celtic left-back Joe Dodds viciously assaulted by home supporters following a match between the Irish and Scottish League teams. Incredibly, there would be yet more violence in Dublin just four months later, as their full international sides clashed. Here is the link.

Players back row from left: Dodds, Gordon, Lawson, Hampton, Walker, Reid.Players front row from left: McAtee, Jackson, Raisbeck, Bowie, McNeil.Photo courtesy of Steven Quinn.

READ THIS…Pistols fired as Celtic’s Joe Dodds attacked and beaten by mob in Belfast

The Irish team were confident, having enjoyed their first-ever win over England the previous month, a 2-1 victory at Windsor Park, Belfast, an outcome which saw Ireland’s Lord Lieutenant John Hamilton-Gordon attend the match in Dublin to present commemorative medals to the home captain, Everton centre-half Val Harris, and John Ferguson, secretary of the Irish FA.

Scotland v Ireland

Val Harris, Everton and Ireland

This match was made infamous by the incident at full-time which saw Scotland winger George Robertson charged with assault, the accusation being that the Menstrie-born Sheffield Wednesday star broke a spectator’s leg as he attempted to retrieve the ball from the crowd. In the aftermath of the game, the Scottish squad was followed back to the team’s hotel where another of their English-based players, John ‘Jock’ Walker of Swindon Town, was assaulted.

George Robertson

Jock Walker

Continued on the next page…

The Daily Record of Monday, 17 March 1913 led with a full page spread on the match, with the report on the above events captured under the heading:

‘WILD SCENES IN DUBLIN’

“SCOTS ATTACKED AFTER THE MATCH.

STATE OF SIEGE.

ASSAULT RENEWED AT THE HOTEL ENTRANCE.

(By “Bedouin”.)

Dublin, Saturday Night.

I was eye-witness to-day to the most sensational incidents I can recall in an International.

Nothing to parallel the wild outburst of inflamed passion was ever known to occur in a national match. Those who were at Dalymount Park will not forget the experience in a hurry.

The moment Referee Adams of Nottingham had given the signal that the game was at an end, George Robertson, the Scottish left-winger, made a dive to the ground to obtain possession of the ball. He was nearest to it when play ceased. The ball used in a big match is a magnet. The scramble for its custody is so common as to excite no interest. It is a ludicrous proceeding at the best.

On all fours Robertson grabbed his prize. For a moment he was lost in the tangle of players and spectators who surged on to the pitch to glorify their heroes.

A spectator kicked the ball out of Robertson’s hands in the direction of Val Harris, the Irish captain, whose magnificent display against the Scots had delighted every patriot on the ground. Irritated at losing the ball, Robertson retaliated. The spectator fell to the ground. A section of the crowd clamoured for blood. On they came to the pavilion. Officials on the spot and a body of the Royal Irish Constabulary kept them at bay with difficulty.

Opinions conflicted about what had actually happened. An impulsive action is often misunderstood. Chagrin at Ireland’s defeat, and a wild rumour about the nature of the accident, inflamed the passions of the crowd.

The players reached the pavilion in safety. Then the row waxed hotter. A gentleman in clerical attire appeared most incensed of the invaders. He burst open the door and gesticulated wildly for someone to be given in charge.

The tumult increased in volume and in violence. Parts of the pavilion were wrecked. The frail structure sheltered the players. That was all. For a time the situation looked ugly. The gravity of the peril could not be exaggerated.

[Jimmy] Brownlie, the Scottish Goalkeeper, told me afterwards he would have given £100 at the moment to have seen the familiar reek of Blantyre’s chimneys. As the hero of Wrexham raised a bottle of lemonade to his lips, crash went the pavilion window. Next minute a boot came through the window. Then a leg. Then a log of wood.

Brownlie thought it was time to see how the referee was getting along. So he popped off to the referee’s room. The situation was no better there.

No sooner had the goalkeeper entered than crash went the glass of the referee’s window. The row outside increased. Extra police came upon the scene.

Describing the sea of faces revealed by the breaking of the clubhouse window, W. Reid, the Scottish centre-forward, remarked to me that murder blazed in the eyes of the infuriated mob.

As the surging, yelling atoms of frantic humanity hurled themselves against the cordon of police and officials who defended the entrance to the pavilion, where the players and Scottish officials anxiously awaited developments, the excited clergyman suddenly mounted a wooden form a few yards from where I was wedged in, and harangued the people.

In guarded language he told them the police could now be left safely to see that justice was done. He appealed in eloquent strain to the patriotism and sportsmanship of Dublin people. In scathing language, he condemned the insult to Dublin’s honour. As a sportsman he appealed to his countrymen not to disgrace the fair name of Dublin.

As the young cleric stood there bareheaded and pale of countenance, the passionate ring of his utterance arrested the attention of the crowd. A few interpolations passed unheeded by him. He knew he had gained the victory as he stepped down from his perch.

Fifteen minutes later I saw him pleading with the people in the densely packed lane leading from the field. They were subdued for the moment, but they hung around waiting for the Scottish players. A spark might kindle afresh the danger.

Continued on the next page…

None of the players had ventured to leave the pavilion. A suggestion from Peter Nellies [the Hearts wing-half making his Scotland debut]that the bags containing the players’ uniform should be sent off and would help to throw dust in the eyes of those who waited to mob them, was quickly adopted.

The rumour spread that the Scottish players had been smuggled out of the ground by a back entrance. Thousands still waited around the principal thoroughfare in the hope of seeing the trouble through.

Apart from the incident that excited their passion at the close of the match, Dublin was disappointed. Ireland had not followed the humiliation of England by repeating the dose at the expense of Scotland.

What had actually happened in the interior of the pavilion? An undercurrent of suppressed excitement pervaded the Scottish officials who stood by the players – President A.M. Robertson, Vice-President Duncan Campbell, Treasurer Tom Steen, and two stalwart members of the R.I.C. guarded the person of Scotland’s left-winger.

A state of siege existed. For over an hour the players could not venture forth. They were arrayed in their football clothes. By and by they left in sections.

A plucky Irishman offered to exchange clothes with the Sheffield Wednesday left winger, who will remember to his dying day his experience at Dalymount Park. He [George Robertson] emerged in the company of the two R.I.C. men and the three S.F.A. officials. Wearing a soft hat, light trousers, and heavy overcoat, and sporting a walking-stick, the man who once delighted Motherwell football people managed to escape. His disguise was complete. The other man ran the gauntlet dressed in football pants, jersey and boots. About 150 policemen were about, and 1,000 people hanging around.

It was the intention of the officials to visit the Mater Infirmorum hospital, where the injured spectator had been conveyed. Instead, they drove to the Mountjoy Police Station and waited there for three-quarters of an hour until the Irish officials arrived on the scene, headed by Secretary John Ferguson, Mr Wilton of Derry, and Mr Tom Green, barrister, along with the injured youth, who is employed as an assistant in a local medical college.

Nothing more was heard of the affair. The Irish Council had quietly drawn up a legal agreement before they arrived, undertaking to compensate the aggrieved youth for any expenses or damage caused by his accident on the field of play.

The remnants of the team had got away from the ground safely, some of them driving with the Irish players. Frank Thompson, the Irish left winger, was hit on the jaw with an orange.

Ireland’s Frank Thompson

Four Belgian horses were attached to a brake that was followed all the way to the Metropole Hotel by a howling band. In the entrance hall where I awaited their arrival, I saw a big fellow I recognised among the ringleaders at Dalymount, prominent among those who savagely attacked John Walker before our eyes. The Swindon back doubled up in the hall, suffering acute pain. He had been kicked in the abdomen. A red mark on the brow testified to the strength of a blow aimed at his face. Brownlie, [Robert] Mercer and some others shook with excitement as they fought their way to safety.

Continued on the next page…

In a few minutes the hubbub outside subsided as the intruders were beaten off by hotel porters and others. It was all over very quickly. Those in charge of the Scottish players were amazed when they heard later of the deplorable outrage.

The storm of the evening was the subject of animated discussion when the players sat around the dinner table. Some of the officials confessed afterwards they were too excited by what occurred to settle to the good things of the table. The chairman made a judicious reference to the startling occurrences of the day, and warmly complimented the players upon their behaviour, and in bringing off a victory that gladdened the hearts of all.

While they dined, a mounted soldier arrived from Dublin Castle conveying an autograph letter to Mr. A. M. Robertson (Scottish [SFA] President) from the Earl of Aberdeen [Ireland’s Lord Lieutenant], who witnessed the match, but was ignorant of its unhappy sequel, requesting him to convey to [Scotland] Captain Donald Colman and the individual members of his team, and all concerned the pleasure it gave him to witness the game.

His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant offered his congratulations in regard to the very fine exhibition of football and upon the success of the Scottish players.”

The views of others involved in the game could be found elsewhere on the page.

“Val Harris, the Irish captain, thought Scotland had all the luck. He felt they were fortunate to obtain the second goal scored by Bennett, considering the latter’s position when [Falkirk centre-half Tommy] Logan headed the ball forward.

The Irish captain, who had an exciting experience in the ugly scene at the finish, was still in his football attire at 7pm.

“It was one of the most bad-tempered crowds I have ever experienced, in fact, the situation at one time was desperate,” remarked Harris, who had been strenuous in his endeavour to protect the Scottish players.

He was in the midst of the ugly rush at the hotel entrance when Walker was attacked and used both his weight and influence. Val thought it best to express no opinion about individual players, except to say that Logan made a reputation.

Asked if he thought the Scots played vigorously, Val smiled and replied, “All in the game.” He felt that the play was poor compared with the England game.

Frank Thompson was having some skin plaster affixed to an ear. He had been in the brake with the Scots, and had stopped a missile intended, he believed, for Walker, judging by the execrations of the mob.

Mr. A. H. Thompson, the late Irish chairman and a selector, said he had the fright of his life when the mob demonstrated outside the pavilion and called for a certain player. In 28 years of Irish football he had experienced many angry mobs, but this one was the fiercest. He was afraid at one time the pavilion would be torn to pieces. “I thought a Belfast crowd difficult to appease but the Dubliners see it out to the finish. I am glad matters got no worse.”

Mr Adams, the referee, said it was his first visit to Ireland, and he was not likely to forget it. He was dressing in the pavilion when the smashing of glass attracted his attention. With the Scottish players he sought safety in the Irish dressing-room. He saw a well-dressed spectator with a large piece of wood smashing the windows and thought it judicious to get clear.”

Continued on the next page…

Clearly, there was more than one version of events. This article, reflecting subsequent discussion at the SFA’s committee meeting, is taken from the Evening Telegraph of Wednesday, 19 March 1913.

‘DISTURBANCE AT IRISH INTERNATIONAL.

The next item on the agenda was the fixing of the venue for the match with Ireland in 1914.

Mr Liddall (Queen’s Park) said he thought they should have some explanation of the riot at the international match in Ireland.

The chairman said his feeling in regard to that was that the spectators were indignant and annoyed because the Scots won the match. There had been so many changes in their team that the Irish felt that they were assured of a win. Unfortunately, at the close of the game a number of spectators invaded the field, and at that particular moment the ball was passed to player Robertson, who in his attempt to get it was jostled. He was tripped several times, and ultimately struck, and fortunately or unfortunately, he retaliated and kicked a spectator. It was rumoured that the spectator’s leg was broken, and at once the feelings were up against him. He (the Chairman) must say that the Irish officials did all in their power to protect the Scots, Apparently, the outrage was committed by a band of hooligans.

A Member – is it the case that it was an Irish official who led the riot and destroyed the windows of the pavilion?

The Chairman said that statement was made. But the Irish officials had got the name of a man, and they were going to take action. In addition to this man there was also a man said to be a leading Orangeman. He (the Chairman) blamed that man for half of the trouble. In reply to a member of the meeting as to whether he was sure that the man was an Orangeman, Mr Robertson said he had remarked to one of the Irish officials that a priest was at the head of much of the trouble, and this official told him he was not a priest but a clergyman, and a leading Orangeman. A large number of police were there, but they stood by and did nothing. They were afraid. The clergyman referred to insisted on Robertson being arrested, it being said that the injured spectator was taken to the hospital. They found, on going to the hospital, however, that the man was not there. The Chairman further explained that, while the Scottish officials and the player Robertson were proceeding to the hospital, presumably to visit the injured spectator, two policemen pounced on the Anglo-Scot and arrested him. Over a thousand persons followed the policemen and their charge to the office, and, notwithstanding the demand of the clergyman that Robertson should be charged with assault, no complaint was made out against the Scottish player. It was three hours after the conclusion of the match before the Scots officials and players reached their hotel, and even then they had to press through an angry crowd.

After further conference on the subject, it was agreed, on the motion of the Chairman, that they ask the Irish Association what steps they were taking to deal with the leaders of the disturbance, including the clergyman, and pending satisfaction on that point the fixing of the venue for the Irish International for 1914 was delayed.”

Incidentally, the central character in this story, George Robertson, is credited by some sources as the man responsible for creating Sheffield Wednesday’s nickname, the Owls. Apparently, the club went on a successful run after George had gifted them an owl as a mascot.

George Robertson with the owl

And Dublin’s Metropole Hotel would witness trouble of a different sort a little over three years after the Scotland party’s eventful visit. Located adjacent to the General Post Office building on Sackville Street, later renamed O’Connell Street, it was occupied and badly damaged during the Easter Rising of April 1916 and subsequently demolished later that year.

Metropole Hotel in Dublin before the Easter Rising

Metropole Hotel in Dublin after the Easter Rising

Hail, Hail!

Matt Corr

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